The Institute

In the woods of Maine, researchers and staff at the secret Institute subject children who have been abducted for their telekinetic or telepathic potential to experiments designed to unlock their abilities. Luke Ellis, a twelve-year-old genius from Minnesota, is among the abductees. Though frightened and bullied by cruel orderlies and indifferent doctors, he bonds with fellow captive Kalisha and wins over staffer Maureen while trying to furtively learn as much as he can about his situation.

Stephen King has been writing so prolifically for so long that he’s achieved symbiosis with some of the creators that he has influenced. He famously covered telekinesis in Carrie and (less famously) took on a gifted child trying to outmaneuver a sinister organization in Firestarter, traces of both of which can be found in the Duffer Brothers’ Stranger Things. The Institute, in turn, has elements that will be quite recognizable to fans of the Netflix hit, right down to the helpful cop with the checkered past (though Tim is both blander and less grumpy than Hopper). Unlike his previous acts of self-plagiarism, however, The Institute does not read like a pale imitation. Timely and taut, it does the classic Stephen King things (fire-forged friendships, strong sense of place, tragic deaths, etc.) well while avoiding the author’s more self-indulgent tendencies.

As a protagonist, Luke is an interesting choice. He isn’t particularly gifted among the gifted (at first), and this lack of dazzle allows for him to act as a quasi-audience surrogate. But he is damn smart and tenacious, both of which give him a fighting chance despite the enormity of The Institute’s operations. He’s contrasted with the worldlier Sha, the more rebellious Nicky, and the younger though more powerful Avery, the latter of which he becomes fiercely protective of. The attention paid to character reminds us that these are kids, not experimentation fodder, which makes the Institute seem all the more heinous. And yet, for all the organization’s terrible (and terrifying) methods and nebulous reach, King floats the possibility that they may be acting out of a sincere belief in a noble purpose.

In recent years, King’s work has sometimes suffered from a clumsy, heavy-handed treatment of theme (see Sleeping Beauties). The Institute, which was not written with detention camps in mind, still reads very much as a critique of U.S. border policy without ideologically bludgeoning its audience. King also avoids another recurring pitfall: unduly emphasizing a supernatural element that is ill-explained. Here, the mechanics and purpose of the Institute’s test are held back to sustain interest and tension, but when the time is right, we are told as much as we need to know to make sense of the proceedings. King has written plenty of doorstoppers, but The Institute reads as if none of its 500-plus pages are wasted.

Suspenseful and engaging with well-conceived characters, The Institute will appeal to King fans, Stranger Things fans, or anyone who simply wants to be on edge for a few hours.